I open the email and read that I’ve been longlisted. And I’m delighted. Of course I’m delighted. But I also feel that I should be more thrilled than I am. And then I feel guilty and ungracious for that feeling, because ultimately, what this means is that several people have read my work and they’re giving …
I was on a writing retreat with about 12 other writers and, when we were making our traditionally modest introductions at the start of the week about what we were currently working on, one man introduced himself with the words, “My name’s Bob and I’m not really a writer. I don’t honestly know what I’m …
Reflecting on the events of last weekend and why I think celebrations of slavery should not be something we’re still debating in the 21st century.
Every year on International Women’s Day, I think of the time I first learned that we really do have something to celebrate on March 8. It was 1990. Britain had not yet signed the Maastricht Treaty. I was in Leiden, the Netherlands, spending six months of my degree on the Erasmus programme. My room was …
Last Monday morning, I watched Oprah Winfrey’s acceptance speech at the 75th Golden Globes ceremony and tears ran down my face. I’ve followed the #EverydaySexism project for a few years and watched with interest as the #MeToo movement evolved. Like many, I’ve had my own experiences of sexual harassment and assault to wrestle with in my (not yet published) work. As I listened …
I have a dream too – of a future without sexism and inequality Read More »
I wrote some handwritten letters this week. I’m not sure if they’ve arrived at their destination yet. There is no set of grey ticks anywhere to tell me they’ve been delivered. There is no set of blue ticks to subsequently let me know that they’ve been opened and read. And there’s something quite delicious and …
Who’d have thought I would become attached to a car? People do, I know. But I’ve never been someone who cared much for cars. I love them only in terms of design and colour, but as a means of transport, I prefer trains or bikes every time. But cars rule the society we live in …